The DA has called on South Africa's government to condemn the arrests of opposition leaders in Tanzania, which Amnesty International said was part of an intensifying crackdown on the opposition ahead of local government elections.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for the immediate and unconditional release of scores of detained members of Tanzania's main opposition party, Chadema, including its vice-chairperson and former presidential candidate, Tundu Lissu, chairperson Freeman Mbowe and Youth Council leader John Pambalu.

Chadema said the three leaders were arrested when they complained to authorities about the arrests of hundreds of their youth wing leaders ahead of celebrations of International Youth Day on Monday, 12 August.

advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove adsThe mass arrests surprised many commentators as they came after President Samia Hassan, in 2023, lifted a ban on opposition gatherings and promised to restore competitive politics. Hassan has been steadily freeing Tanzania's restrictive political environment created by her authoritarian predecessor, John Magufuli.

However, it appears that the Tanzanian government feared the Youth Day events could spiral into mass demonstrations against the government like those which rocked neighbouring Kenya recently. On Sunday, the police banned Chadema's rally, saying it was intended to cause violence.

"They cited the party's rallying call for people to come together like the 'youth in Kenya' -- apparently referring to the weeks...